Lady Bulldogs Hoops Season Comes To A Close

The Milbank Area Lady Bulldogs high school girls basketball season came to an end short of their goals. The locals suffered a 45-27 loss to Aberdeen Roncalli in the opening round of the Region 1A tournament Tuesday, February 23, in Britton. The Lady Bulldogs finish the season with a 6-15 overall record.

Milbank Area got off to a solid start and hung close at 10-8 at the end of the opening quarter. The Lady Bulldogs battled for each point but remained behind at 26-20 at the midway mark. The locals struggled to produce points on the offensive end and added just four points to their total in the third quarter and three in the fourth to suffer the 45-27 loss.

“We got off to the start we wanted,” noted Milbank Area head coach Joe Frederiksen. “I was happy with how we were able to get some stops and play team defense throughout the game. We really struggled to get shots to fall in the second half. I am really proud of this team with how they never gave up and played hard all season.”

Four seniors finished up their high school basketball career for the Lady Bulldogs. They were Shelby Hooth, Mikayla Street, Cara Berkner and Tori Brandenburger.

Caryssa Mielitz led the team with nine points, two rebounds and two turnovers. Mackayla Schuelke followed with five points, one steal and three turnovers. Street tallied three points and two rebounds while Hooth added three points. Molly Rick chipped in with three points, one rebound and one turnover on the night.

Also contributing to the totals for the Lady Bulldogs were Berkner, two points, one rebound and  one steal; Sophia Seffrood, two points, two rebounds and one steal; Mikaela Hoeke, one rebound and one turnover, and Shea Hooth, one rebound.

Milbank Area went 10 for 34 from the field for 29 percent shooting on the night. The Lady Bulldogs were 8-for-18 in the first half and 2-16 in the second. They finished the game with 20 rebounds, three steals and 12 turnovers.

Roncalli made 51 percent of their shots from the field, hitting 20 of 39 attempts. The Cavaliers wrapped up the victory with 30 rebounds, seven steals and eight turnovers.